Archive for the 'Ryan Carter' Tag Under 'Ducks' Category

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News sees parallels between the Kings' unprecedented Stanley Cup run and the perfect game thrown by the pedestrian Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series.

That, in fact, is the most frequently asked question: How come it took the Kings all season to even get into the playoffs?

It's a shame in a way because it continues to invalidate the long-invalidated regular season. It seems like a long time since the Kings were shut out twice at home in succession, 1-0. Actually it was only late February.

Anyway, Campbell's explanation for the 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals is a familiar one. The Kings' core players are playing better than those of the Devils, who got a fifth playoff goal from fourth-liner (and former Duck) Ryan Carter.

What's amazing to me is that Monday night will only be the Kings' seventh game of the postseason at Staples Center. That postseason began on April 11. That's how ruthlessly efficient they've been in finishing series.

The Ducks will be getting back on the ice with an afternoon practice Wednesday at Anaheim Ice as they begin preparation for the Black Friday matinee against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

But there are some other notable tidbits and morsels that have been floating around the Ducks since they were last in action on Sunday in their bad 4-2 loss to lowly Edmonton.

-- The Ducks acquired minor-league forwards Patrick Maroon and David Laliberte from Philadelphia in exchange for jettisoning defenseman Danny Syvret and center Rob Bordson. Maroon, 22, has some promise as a potential power forward but he also comes with some baggage, which GM Bob Murray touched on here when he met with reporters.

The Ducks continued the shuffling of their roster on Tuesday by dealing center Ryan Carter to Carolina for prospects Matt Kennedy and Stefan Chaput.

Carter, 27, spent his first five years with the organization after being signed as a college free agent out of Minnesota State-Mankato. Though he played in 138 regular-season games and 20 postseason contests over that span, Carter never seemed to be able to win a full-time spot in the lineup either due to injury or his play on the ice.

After being inserted into the lineup on Oct. 17 against Phoenix, Carter managed a goal and two assists in 18 games while also compiling 22 penalty minutes.

But his final game may have been the breaking point for the Minnesota native as he played only 3 minutes, 42 seconds on Sunday -- including one shift in the third period -- after being beaten badly on a second-period goal by Edmonton's Sam Gagner in a 4-2 loss to the Oilers.

Carter was subsequently put on waivers Monday but went unclaimed as of this morning. Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford said the immediate plan is to install him as their regular fourth-line center.

The Ducks have put Ryan Carter on waivers for the second time in a four-month span after the center played sparingly in a 4-2 loss to Edmonton on Sunday night.

Carter, who has centered the fourth line since his return to the lineup, saw just 3 minutes, 42 seconds of ice time and took only one shift in the third period. In the second period, the Oilers' Sam Gagner beat him inside to a spot close to the goal and one-timed a pass from Ales Hemsky for the game's first goal.

The former Minnesota State-Mankato standout has a goal -- which came on Oct. 23 at Detroit -- and two assists to go with a minus-4 rating in 18 games. Carter, who hasn't played more than 8:29 since Nov. 12 against Dallas, was put on waivers back in July but went unclaimed.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle talked about Carter after he entered the lineup on Oct. 17 against Phoenix following the first five games where he was a healthy scratch.

"He's a professional," Carlyle said then. "He's worked hard. He's kept his mouth shut and he's done his job … when he was sitting he probably wasn't happy but he never wavered in his work ethic and that's the sign of true professional and we felt we owed him an opportunity.”

Little by little, the Ducks have put their embarrassing start to the season off in the distance and are in the thick of the Western Conference picture at the quarter turn.

The process toward respectability has been achingly slow given by their less-than-dominating play on many nights. More baby steps than leaps and bounds.

But the Ducks are beginning to resemble the team that General Manager Bob Murray imagined when they first hit the ice for training camp back in September. And they could finally be at full strength, giving Murray some work to do in the coming days.

While the club took Thursday off after tight losses to Dallas and Minnesota on back-to-back nights, Murray will have to find a way to work injured players Kyle Chipchura, Andy Sutton and Joffrey Lupul back onto the roster.

Chipchura is no longer suffering from symptoms related to the concussion he incurred on Oct. 30 and could be available shortly. Sutton's surgically-repaired right thumb continues to heal and the defenseman remains on target for a return next week.